Video planning for 2027: how to create a year's plan

Planning your 2027 videos now, in the last quarter, costs less and yields better results than hiring producers to produce videos one by one throughout the year. This guide shows you how to put together the plan: from the 2026 review to the calendar, budget, and metrics.

This is the time when most companies finalize their marketing budget for the following year. Those who come to this conversation with a list of videos, dates, and costs are more likely to get approval than those who come with "we need videos in 2027".

Quick summary:

• Start by looking at what worked in 2026: which videos were viewed, used by the sales team or HR, and which ones were left unused.
• Link each video to a 2027 business goal. Videos without a goal are the first to be cut when the budget gets tight.
• Grouping recordings by quarter reduces the cost per video because the team and travel expenses are divided among multiple projects.
• Fixed dates require advance production. A Mother's Day campaign, scheduled for May 9, 2027, begins in March.
• Set aside some of the budget for unpredictable expenses.

Why plan the whole year at once?

Commissioned video work at the last minute is more expensive and worse. The short deadline takes away time for scriptwriting, and shooting in isolation alone covers the crew's daily wages, travel expenses, and set setup costs.

When the videos of the year are planned together, three things change:

• Cost. A day's work can include capturing corporate videos, customer testimonials, and supporting footage for social media videos.
• Consistency. A visual identity created at the beginning of the year serves for all the videos, giving them the look and feel of a series.
• Approval. Having a budget approved once avoids having to request funds for each project individually, which causes delays.

Step-by-step guide to creating your 2027 video plan.

1. Review what was produced in 2026

List all the videos from the year and note, for each one, where it was published, how many people watched it, and who used it. A video with few views may have been decisive in sales meetings; another with many views may have generated nothing.

Separate them into three groups: videos that worked and deserve a sequel, videos that need updating, and videos that didn't justify the investment. See how to measure the results of videos.

2. Start with the business goals for 2027.

Ask the board of directors, sales, and HR what needs to happen in 2027. Launch a product, enter a new region, reduce the onboarding time for new employees, increase enrollment.

Each goal suggests a specific type of video. Entering a new region calls for institutional videos and similar customer case studies; faster onboarding requires a structured onboarding path.

3. List the necessary videos.

For each goal, define the videos, the audience, and the channel. Separate them into four areas so nothing is left out:

The description of each format is in Types of videos for businesses.

4. Prioritize

The initial list always ends up being larger than the budget. To cut costs, prioritize each video by its impact on the goal and its urgency.

Videos that the sales team will use every week or that HR will show with each new hire take priority over one-time-show videos.

5. Assemble the calendar.

Add fixed dates (campaigns, events, launches, holidays) to the calendar and calculate the start of each production backwards. We have compiled the dates for 2027 and the production deadlines in... 2027 video calendar.

Leave some leeway between projects. Internal approvals often take longer than production itself.

6. Group the recordings.

Look at the calendar and group together what can be recorded in the same place and at the same time. One day per quarter at headquarters, for example, can yield three months' worth of content.

A well-planned recording yields the main video, short testimonials, vertical cuts, and photos. We have a guide on how to do this. how to plan long recordings.

7. Define the budget.

With your video list in hand, add up the cost of each one and add a reserve. We show you how to put together this calculation, with examples for companies of different sizes, in [link to relevant document]. video budget for 2027.

8. Define distribution and metrics.

For each video, note where it will be published and how you will know if it worked: views, clicks, leads, use by the sales team, training completion. A video without a distribution plan is finished and nobody sees it.

See also paid media for video and organic distribution.

9. Decide how the approval process will work.

Define who approves the script and final cut on each front, and within how many days. Having someone responsible for consolidating the comments avoids five rounds of adjustments.

We have a guide to video approval workflow.

Questions to bring to the planning meeting

The video plan works best when each area explains what they need before someone speaks in detail. These questions help guide the conversation.

To the board of directors:

• What are the three most important goals for 2027?
• Are there any planned launches, rebranding, company anniversaries, or entries into new markets?
• Does a particular audience need to see the company in a different light, such as investors, candidates, or customers in a new sector?

For the commercial:

• What customer question comes up in every meeting?
• At what stage do sales stall?
• Which clients would be willing to share the results on video?

For HR and the corporate university:

• How many people are expected to join the company in 2027, and in how many cities?
• Which training is repeated in person every week?
• What rule or procedure do the teams still execute in different ways?

For marketing purposes only:

• Which channels will receive the most investment in 2027?
• Which events and campaigns already have a date?
• Which videos from 2026 need updating?

Example of an annual plan

The table shows what a plan for a medium-sized B2B company with a sales team and frequent hiring might look like. It's an example to visualize the annual distribution; the videos for each company depend on their goals.

Three recording days a year support more than 20 deliverables. Anything that doesn't depend on recording, such as explainers and system training, is left for the quarter without recording time. For the convention opening and the retrospective, see the guides... videos for sales conventions and of New Year's Eve video.

How the plan changes depending on the size of the company.

Small business or startup video. Focus on a few videos that the sales team uses every day: a short institutional video and two or three case studies. A well-planned shoot in the first quarter can yield all of that.

Medium-sized company with structured marketing. Distribute the recordings by quarter, as in the example above, and maintain an ongoing series for social media with cuts from the recordings.

Large company or company with a corporate university. Training and e-learning content often dominates the plan. It's worth separating the internal video budget from the marketing budget and evaluating a... recurring package with the production company. See How to plan video training and e-learning..

How to measure each type of video

The metric changes depending on the video's purpose. Views are a good number for social media and say little about a training video.

Define the metrics before production. It changes the script: a video made to generate demo requests ends differently than a video made to hold attention in the feed.

What has changed in corporate video and is worth considering in 2027?

Some trends in recent years are already affecting what goes into companies' video plans. The complete list is at [link to list]. Corporate video trends for 2027.

Vertical versions since recording. A large portion of corporate videos are viewed on mobile phones, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Framing the video with vertical cropping in mind avoids losing information during adaptation; see [link/review]. How to adapt videos for vertical format..

AI in repetitive steps. Transcription, subtitles, versions in other languages, and some avatar training have become faster and cheaper. Scriptwriting, directing, and recording with real people still require more personnel; we compared in Videos with AI avatars and AI-powered dubbing.

Series instead of individual pieces. Several short videos with the same identity generate more visibility than one long video per year. Annual planning is what makes the series viable.

Accessibility. Subtitles and sign language interpretation are no longer the exception in internal communications and videos from large companies. Included in the plan, they cost less; see for yourself. Sign language in corporate videos.

Customized video. Videos featuring each customer's name or data, generated at scale, have been incorporated into relationship building and prospecting campaigns. Learn more. Smart Take.

What to include in the plan document

The plan fits in a spreadsheet. For each video, fill in:

• Name and type of video;
• The business goal it serves;
• audience and publishing channel;
• Delivery date and production start date;
• associated recording, if any;
• estimated cost;
• responsible for approval;
• A metric that will show if it worked.

With this spreadsheet, the production company can budget for the entire year at once and suggest where to consolidate filming. See below. How to request a quote from a production company..

Common mistakes in video planning

Planning only for holidays and special occasions. They fill the calendar, but videos rarely yield the best results. Case studies, institutional videos, and training programs are used year-round.

Leaving the budget without a reserve. Throughout the year, an event, an early release, or a client willing to record comes along. Without time off, these opportunities are missed.

Forget the versions. Subtitles, vertical format, English version, and sign language interpretation are extra work. Planned as part of the same production, they are included in the project.

Do not measure. Without a defined metric at the outset, the 2027 review, a year from now, will start from scratch.

Frequently Asked Questions

When should I start planning next year's video?

Between September and November, before the marketing budget is finalized, the video plan is included in the budget discussion, and the first production of the year can begin in January.

How many videos should a company produce per year?

It depends on the goals. A small company can achieve good results with a corporate video and a few case studies. Companies with large sales teams, multiple units, or a corporate university produce videos every month.

Is it worth subscribing to an annual package with the production company?

Yes, with three or more projects a year. The package allows you to group recordings, reuse visual identity, and negotiate the entire package. See more. recurring video packages.

How to include video in your marketing plan?

Treat video as part of your campaigns and goals, not as a separate line item. Each campaign in your marketing plan can specify the videos you need, and the video plan brings everything together in a production calendar.

Who should be in charge of the video plan within the company?

In general, it's for marketing purposes. Even when videos are for HR or sales, having someone centralizing the schedule prevents duplicate recordings and maintains visual identity.

What to do with old videos that still work?

Update what's outdated, such as numbers, system screens, and people who have left the company, and reuse the rest. Often, a fresh edit solves the problem without needing to re-record.

Start with what needs to be ready in January.

The 2027 plan begins with a review of 2026, moves through business goals, and culminates in a list of videos with dates, grouped recordings, and budget. With that in place, the year of video production ceases to be a series of urgent requests.

If you are putting together your 2027 plan, Send a list of what you need. And we help organize the recordings and the year's budget.

Published on April 7, 2023 · updated on October 13, 2026

Samuel Silva

Samuel Silva is the co-founder and Creative Director of Silvertake Vídeo, a video production company in Belo Horizonte. He leads a team that combines creativity and technology, delivering over 7,000 videos for more than 100 companies. A graduate in Advertising from PUC Minas, Samuel specializes in marketing, creative automation, and audiovisual production.